Got Him
by DinerGuy
Summary: Jay Halstead should've died that day. Instead, he was left with the memory of a stranger with a newspaper, wondering if it was just dumb luck that he'd made it out… or maybe something a little more.


_A/N: Part of the _Chicago Sentinels _'verse I established in _Do Something_. I really like the idea that Gary is still out there, saving people in Chicago. And, after years of having the idea, I finally am writing stories utilizing it. I hope you all enjoy these as much as I have!_

_And special thanks to OllieCollie for the beta reading!_

_Standard disclaimers apply._

* * *

"I got him!" Jay yelled as their suspect bolted. He didn't wait for his team's reply before leaping up from the park bench and giving chase.

_"Jay! Wait for backup!" _That was Ruzek on the radio. _"We're two minutes out!"_

In the back of his head, Jay knew the other detective was right; Waters was armed and dangerous and had been on a crime spree for the past two days. There were already three people in the hospital who'd fallen prey to the violent carjacker—who reports seemed to indicate actually enjoyed tormenting the people he robbed—and a fourth victim was in the morgue after trying to fight back. There was no telling what the criminal would do with a cop on his tail.

But Jay also knew this was probably their last chance to catch Waters, and there was no way Jay was going to tell the victims and their families that the reason Waters wasn't in custody because Jay had been too scared to chase him down.

"I'm not losing this guy!" Jay returned between breaths of cold winter air.

_"Jay!"_ The other detective's tone was full of warning, but Jay didn't stop to contemplate it.

A few blocks ahead, he could see the fleeing suspect. The man was dodging and weaving through the crowd of pedestrians, throwing glances over his shoulder as he ran.

Jay leaned into the chase, stretching his legs to pick up the pace as much as he could. It was a footrace that he was determined to win. He was closing the distance when Waters looked back again and visibly panicked as he noticed Jay so close on his heels.

Flipping over a stack of boxes that were sitting on the sidewalk, Waters dodged around another pedestrian and ran into a group of tourists pointing their cameras at something interesting they'd spotted. The collision prompted yells of indignation and surprise, which were echoed when Jay vaulted the stack of boxes and ran through the tourists a few seconds later.

Jay gritted his teeth as he pushed himself harder. Waters was _right there_ in front of him, just out of reach. If he didn't hurry, Jay could lose the guy, and there was no way he was letting that happen. His breath was coming in short gasps now as he pushed himself even harder. He didn't stop to think about how much his lungs were burning or anything besides catching up to Waters. Somewhere nearby, he could hear people shouting and yelling as he ran past, and he glanced around to monitor his surroundings, seeing various pedestrians jumping aside to avoid the chase that threatened to knock them over. Other than making sure he wasn't going to bowl over an innocent bystander, Jay didn't stop to consider anything other than nabbing his quarry.

Up ahead, Waters took a sudden left into an alley that branched off of the sidewalk, and Jay could hear the crashing of something metallic just out of his line of sight. He made the turn a moment later, using a hand on the corner of the building to sling his momentum in the right direction without having to slow his breakneck speed.

As he made the tight change in direction, the first thing he saw was a blur of movement coming right at his face. Jay barely had time to react, and he felt something hard and cold glance off the side of his head.

The blow sent him sprawling forward, where he rolled over and threw his hands up as the object came at him again. Instinctively, he grabbed for it, realizing as his hand closed around it that it was a discarded piece of iron.

Waters yanked back, but Jay held on and struggled to wrest the improvised weapon from the other man. Jay's head was pounding, but he gritted his teeth and ignored everything but stopping Waters. When Jay managed to win the tug-of-war over the iron, the sudden release of the other man's grip sent the bar flying to clatter somewhere in the alley behind him.

Springing to his feet—albeit a little slower than he would have liked—Jay was up in a fighting stance and lunged for Waters. The other man dodged, then reached into his jacket. The flash in his hand as he pulled it back out made Jay groan. This couldn't be an easy fistfight, could it?

Waters lunged with the knife, and Jay sidestepped. When Waters rushed forward again, Jay took the opening. Jay grabbed his opponent's right arm and threw their weight sideways to slam into the wall. He smashed the man's hand against the bricks, trying to dislodge the knife. A clattering sound told him he was successful, and he followed up with an elbow to Waters' face.

The man howled in pain and then retaliated with his own fist—right in the same spot where the metal bar had done its damage.

Jay's sight clouded over, and he felt his knees grow unsteady, but he clenched his teeth and whirled around to deliver a blow to Waters' chin. Or, at least, he intended to. He was only about halfway through the turn when Waters shoved him, which turned Jay's momentum against him and sent him tumbling to the ground. His head impacted with the asphalt as a flash of light exploded in his vision.

The only thought in his mind was that he had to stop Waters from getting away—but then a sharp fire in his left side drew all the air from his lungs in a pained gasp.

A second followed right after, and Jay felt more than heard the yell that was torn from his throat.

His eyes flew open and locked onto Waters, who was once again holding the knife that Jay had knocked from his grasp. A knife that now had a really odd sheen to its blade… Jay glanced down at where his hands had reflexively gone to the source of the pain, and he frowned as he took in how red and _wet _they were.

Oh man.

Jay coughed, sparks dancing across his vision at the movement, and he groaned at the pain that shot up through his side and into his head. Waters was still standing over him, an evil grin dancing across his face, and Jay gritted his teeth and gathered his strength. The guy was _right there, _and there was no way he was getting away again.

Clenching his left hand to his side, Jay used his right to try to push up to a sitting position. He might be fading, but he was not about to let their suspect take _him_ down. He'd just draw his gun, and Waters would have no choice but to surrender. The only reason he hadn't pulled it before was he'd had no time in the onslaught from Waters.

As Jay's hand went to his holster, Waters stepped forward and kicked the detective's injured side, that same look spread across his face.

Jay hissed through his teeth, unable to stop the cry the blow pulled from him. He fell back against the ground, breathing heavily as the pain radiated through him. If he could just get his gun…

But Waters noticed the movement and jumped forward, snatching the gun himself. Jay grabbed for the man's arm as he did, knowing he couldn't let the other man take control of the weapon, but Waters smashed his other fist into Jay's jaw, the hilt of the knife lending more weight to the blow. It threw Jay back again as stars danced across his vision, and he felt his head bounce off the hard ground once more. The wave of nausea that hit him was overwhelming, and Jay only just kept control of his stomach.

Waters considered the gun for a moment, ignoring the injured man who had his eyes clenched shut as he breathed hard and fast against the pain. Then, Waters turned back to Jay and waggled the weapon in the air.

"You shoulda left me alone," he bit out, the first words Jay had actually heard the guy speak to him. "Now you gonna see what you get when you come after me—and your cop buddies gonna learn, too."

He raised the knife again, and Jay's chest clenched. As much as he was trying to figure a way out, he couldn't even get his legs up underneath him, much less could he hope to even roll away from what he knew was coming. He braced himself, watching for the one window of opportunity he'd have to grab for the knife as it came down—

"Hey!" A shout rang down the alley around them, freezing Waters' hand in midair.

Jay let out a ragged breath and strained to see around his assailant. He couldn't make out much, not with the way everything around him was swimming. All he could see was a dark figure somewhere near where Waters had jumped him. It didn't sound like any of his team, though, and Jay just hoped it was another officer and not some good Samaritan who was passing by and would end up getting themselves killed for their trouble.

"This don't concern you!" Waters yelled. Jay watched blearily as his service weapon was swung toward the newcomer. "Get outta here!"

"Uh, sorry; I, uh, can't quite do that," came the reply.

Jay clenched his teeth and planted his hand on the ground beside him. He had to get up, had to take control of the situation. But any little movement sent another wave of dizziness and pain rolling over him again, and he could barely even breathe past it all.

There was the sound of footsteps, and Waters shook his head and waved the gun again.

"Man, I'm warnin' you!" he snapped.

The unfamiliar voice came again. "Look, I know you're scared, okay? I would be too if I were you. On the run from the cops; that's gotta be hard, right? You just want to stay out of jail, I get it."

Jay blinked as he realized the other man was edging closer to them. The guy was now close enough for the detective to make out more about him, and Jay bit back a groan as he realized this was indeed just a passerby. Rather than a uniform or even just a shield on his belt or around his neck, this guy was clad in jeans, a dark leather jacket, and a dark cap—with a newspaper of all things sticking out of his back pocket. Jay frowned as he studied the man's face. The man had to be somewhere in his early fifties, with dark hair graying at the temples.

"Look, you don't want any trouble, right, buddy?" the guy in the jacket continued. He had his hands out non-threateningly at his sides and was calmly continuing his conversation with Waters as he got closer to Jay. "So, how's about you just go on your way and get out of here before more cops show up? Just leave this guy here; he's not coming after you, not in his state."

The crazy thing was, Waters actually looked like he was considering what the new guy was saying. Jay blinked again, hard, trying to keep his eyes open so he could stay focused. He was fading, and he knew it. The blood was still flowing between his fingers, and Jay could feel himself getting increasingly colder—and he knew it wasn't just from the frigid ground he was currently lying on.

"All I want is to help this guy, okay? I won't go after you; I promise."

Waters' gaze jerked down to Jay before returning to the other man, and he gestured with the pistol in his hand. "Or what if I just shoot you right here? What about that?"

"Oh, uh, well, you _could,_ but then you'd be wasting more time here, and I'm sure the detective here has backup on the way," was the reply, which made Waters step back a little. Jay could hear the nervousness in the other man's tone as the gun stayed pointed directly at him.

Sirens rang out in the distance, and Waters' eyes grew slightly larger.

"See? You better go now, man," the stranger urged.

Jay wanted to protest, wanted to get to his feet and grab Waters while the criminal was _right there._ He couldn't just let the guy get away, not like this. This was their chance to arrest the man after all this time looking for him. But he still couldn't _move._

In the next minute, as the sirens seemed to grow louder—although Jay could tell they were still blocks away—Waters seemed to make up his mind.

"You stay right there!" he threatened, gesturing with the gun for emphasis. "If I see you comin' after me, I'm gonna shoot you an' then come back for this cop!"

The guy in the jacket didn't even wait for Waters to clear the alley before rushing over to Jay and dropping to his knees beside him. "Hey, hey, buddy. Can you hear me?"

Jay squinted up and managed a slight nod. He couldn't quite pull the words together to answer.

"My name's Gary," the man offered, unwrapping the scarf from his neck. "What's yours?"

"J… Jay— Ahhh!" His answer was interrupted by the involuntary exclamation as Gary pressed his scarf to Jay's injured side. The pressure being applied to the wound sent waves of agony coursing through Jay all over again.

"I'm sorry," Gary apologized. He grimaced as he leaned in on Jay's side. "Sorry."

Jay took a tight breath through clenched teeth. "Don't… y' gotta…" He squeezed his eyes shut again and let out the breath. It was so cold, and he hurt so much….

"Hey, hey! Jay? Stay with me." A hand patted his cheek—hard—to accompany the words.

"Mm," Jay mumbled, cracking one eye open. "Cold."

"I know; I'm sorry," Gary apologized again as he shook his head. "Look, I called 911 already. They should be here any minute. You just gotta hang on, 'kay? Can you do that for me?"

He really didn't want to. Jay just wanted to give into the darkness dancing around him and sink into a place where he didn't have to feel anything.

There was yelling from down the street, muffled by the time it reached the alley, but it still drew both men's attention in that direction. A smile tugged at the corner of Jay's mouth. "Sounds like… they got 'im."

Gary turned to look over his shoulder, and the shifting of his weight against the wound caused the injury to flare up again.

This time, Jay didn't even have to try to give in. The darkness rushed across his vision, and he felt like something warm and heavy had settled across him. He gladly let himself sink down into the welcoming feeling of unconsciousness…

"Jay! Come on, buddy. Stay with me!"

Wait, that sounded like—

Jay forced his eyes open and blinked slowly.

Above him, Ruzek was looking down worriedly. "Hey, man." The other detective's face relaxed into a worried smile as their eyes met. "You scared me there."

"Hm?" Jay mumbled, slowly looking around. _"Ow!"_ he hissed as Ruzek put more pressure on his side. "Careful."

Ruzek shook his head. "You gotta stay with me, all right? Ambo will be here any second."

"Wh… where's Gar…" Jay coughed. "Gary?" Jay didn't even know the guy, but he _had_ saved his life. And now he didn't seem to be anywhere in sight.

"He's over there, giving his statement to Atwater," Ruzek tilted his head back toward the street. "We caught Waters about two blocks down, and then we heard someone yelling from in here and found you looking like death." He raised an eyebrow. "I told you to wait for backup, man."

"Didn't wanna… wanna lose 'im," Jay protested, coughing when Ruzek shifted the fabric against his side.

"Yeah, well, I almost lost _you,"_ Ruzek returned with a stern look. "You're just lucky everything turned out like it did."

Jay gave his friend a look and took a tentative breath. He knew Ruzek was right—and he'd probably be giving the same lecture if their roles were reversed. But, for the moment, he didn't particularly care. Everything had worked out, more or less. Not as great as it could've, granted, but still. They'd caught Waters, no one had died—even if Jay felt pretty close to it at the moment… although he _was _curious about how Gary had just happened to show up in the nick of time… Was the perfect timing just a coincidence? And it had been like the guy had known exactly what to do and say, even to the point where he knew exactly what was happening…

But that would have to wait for later, Jay decided with another pained intake of breath as the ambulance sirens stopped just up the street. He could hear doors slamming and pounding feet coming his way. Glancing back at Ruzek, Jay saw his friend flash him an encouraging smile.

Yeah, everything else could wait for now. Or, at least, until he had the really good stuff in his system.

* * *

_Fin._


End file.
